Missive from the Middle Kingdom Waterbearer

Greetings unto the Populace of the Midrealm from Mistress Nonna, coming to you wearing the hat of the Kingdom Waterbearer! (Yes, I know the Midrealm Webpage

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, May 10, 2006

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Greetings unto the Populace of the Midrealm from Mistress Nonna,
coming
to you wearing the hat of the Kingdom Waterbearer! (Yes, I know the
Midrealm Webpage doesn't have me listed as such but the Pale does!
(note
change in contact info)).

As we move rapidly from the brisk days of Spring to the bright
beaming
days of Summer, it is time again for me to remind all event goers to
take precautions against dehydration, and other heat related
ailments.
Prevention is the best medicine, so maintain your health with your
seven
glasses of water a day, and keep imbibments the night prior to
fighting
on the level. Sunscreen early. Sunscreen often.

On to new buisness....

The Middle Kingdom Waterbearers, as a guild, has dwindled to a
select
few. Three in fact. This HAS to change. I'm not saying that our
people
are not hydrated. But I do see a very big hole where a hearty group
was
once. For all of those who have organized their own watering system
either as households or barony, I thank you and hope you continue.
To all
of you who carry camel packs under your armor, HooBAH! However,
there
is always an influx of new people. Those not totally acclimated to
the
sport, nor it's grueling drain. It is for these that we must
continue to
be at the ready.

If you attend Gulf Wars, you might have noticed the trend of other
Kingdoms going from the gallon jug and straw delivery method to the
pop top
and squeeze bottle "no contact" delivery system. After discussing
this
new system, along with the standard method with many, I think it
would
be best to offer the choice of either on the feild. I can only
encourage this choice, as there is no official standpoint from
anyone regarding
the rules and regulations of being a portable hose. Just what will
get
the most number of people, drinking the most amount of liquids.

To that end, I have three Goals. And I need your help to complete
them.

First.... I need regional points of contact and other people
interested
in wanting to waterbear. Regionals will operate as "goto folks" for
their region when it comes to water support. As much as I would
like, I
can't be everywhere. If there is no house or group of people willing
to
tote water, these people would be the stand-ins. There is very
little
paperwork involved. There is some managing of supplies, namely,
cleaning
and storing the pop-top bottles and coolers. Your only other job is
to
get me the names of the people doing the job, so that I can file
reports to the Chirurgeonate, who we answer to, and to TRM so that
these
people can be recognized for their service to the Fighting Dragon.
PLEASE
CONTACT ME IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, or if you just want your name on
the
Rolls of the Guild as a contact for water support for upcoming
events.

Second.... we need supplies! Not much, but something that is OURS,
not
so and so's or the Barony of such and such. Two coolers per region,
10-20 pop-top bottles per region. Tubing and gallon jugs are
disposable,
and should be treated as such to prevent transmission of anything
from
one event to the next. Any event budget should allow for $15.00
worth of
waterbearing supplies. I'm finagling the price of the pop top
bottles,
but they are available at very resonable prices, we could even have
the
Midrealm logo placed on them? Based on prices and estimates, we need
to
raise approximately $600 total to cover these supply costs.

Third.... I need donations for an auction, and a place to hold the
auction. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU CARE TO DONATE AN ITEM. I would
ask the
donations be SCA relevant, period in style or nature. They can be
finished items, they can be fabics, they can be unfinished wood,
promisory
notes for personalized items. Anything. Any artisan wishing to
donate a
piece, I ask you list a minimum bid, as handcraft items should never
be
sold or auctioned for BudK prices.

I will be speaking with upcoming event stewards to determine the
best
time and place for this auction. As Kenna is a big supporter of the
Waterbearers, she suggested the Rose Tourney June 3rd. This might
turn into
several smaller auctions, as donations come in. I will be certain to
post all up and coming auctions and items available prior to the
event.

Please join me in this endeavor. We cannot let such a very integral
part of the SCA fall by the wayside, and expect our Armies to
function
with vigor. I don't know about the rest of the Midrealm, but I was
very
excited to see the Dragon Army victorious at Pennsic last year. As a
non-combatant, this is my way to help those waging the war. There
must be
others who feel like I do.

If anyone has concerns or questions regarding the water support of
the
Midrealm, please feel free to contact me. Email is best.

May the blessings of all the gods be on your fields and give you
bountiful harvests. May they keep you and your pack animals out of
harms way
on your many paths.
And may we meet in good spirits with good friends for good times.